


Iron and Lightning

by ShadowSparrow



Category: Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Extremely Slow Burn, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, salty language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25372954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowSparrow/pseuds/ShadowSparrow
Summary: Mina Taylor only tried to trust her inner voice - she never thought she was saving The Richest Man in America. Unwittingly caught up in the whirlwind that is Tony Stark's life, their shaky relationship soon grows into real friendship. But can they derail the fateful forces bearing down on them? And will either of them acknowledge the uneasy feeling that their friendship is growing into something more intimate?(This is one fic in a large series of intertwined planned stories. How these stories will be intertwined will become abundantly clear as the story progresses, but for now, it'll be a mystery.Chapter-specific trigger warnings will be in the notes before each chapter. Please take care.)
Relationships: Tony Stark/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Physical Assault, Language, Implied Homelessness.

_January 1st, 2004_

The slap of her old, torn shoes accompanied Mina as she made her purposeful way down the still-bright Hollywood sidewalk. She had idled too long trying to get food and dark had long fallen - dark that didn’t bode well for her chances of finding a place to sleep inside tonight. 

“Guess Hakim and I are crashing in the asylum again. Damn--“

_Stop._

Mina went stock-still in the middle of the pavement. She earned a few annoyed shoves and curses for this, but she shrugged them off. She’d learned long ago to listen to that voice.

_Look in the alley._

She looked in the alley, but it was dark. The space between the two buildings appeared to be wide, but no light illuminated it. She craned her head to examine the edifices themselves, noting a high-end club on one side and some sort of a boutique on the other. Neither one was the kind of place that would let a person like her set a foot inside.

_LOOK IN THE ALLEY._

“All right, Jesus, hold your horses.” She stepped into the dark alley, crouching low and using her hands as a guide. Once free of the noise of the street, she could hear the wet _THWACK_ and _THUMP_ of something heavy hitting flesh. Some poor bastard was getting the absolute tar beaten out of him. 

“I guess I’m supposed to help him?” She whispered. There was no reply; there never was. Her helpful inner voice was more of a monologue. Sighing, she reached out for the power that was never far away...

The hum and pulse of electricity was in everything - overwhelming - cars, lights, clothes, phones—Too much, **too much**! STOP. Reassess. One thing at a time, only things that might be useful...

There was a camera. Probably useless with the lights off, but a short, intense burst of electricity fried the circuits, anyway. No use in getting caught on film. What else?

A fuse box hung on the wall across the way. It had a metal casing. Now that was helpful. And one other thing... A floodlight above the club exit.

When the alley lights flicked on, the three men engaged in assault startled. They turned to their companion, a slighter, younger man, whose only duty had been to watch the switch for the light. “What the Hell are you doing, Brent?”

Brent, terrified, threw up his hands. “I didn’t touch the light! I swear!”

“So those lights turned on by themselves, huh?” Striding forward, the biggest man there slapped Brent across the ear, throwing him against the brick wall.

The _SCREECH_ of steel deforming and tearing interrupted the assault-within-an-assault. Brent and the big guy turned just in time, horrified by the sight of the metal fuse box casing held aloft by a spherical cloud of lightning. They weren’t afraid for long before being summarily conked over the head with it. The others screamed and fled from the alleyway.

Mina let go of her powers, and the box fell to the concrete with a clatter. “That was easy.” She pulled herself from her hiding place and to her feet with caution. The beaten person was still prone on the ground. Dread heavy in her chest, she checked his pulse...

... And found a heartbeat. “Thank God. I didn’t get my fingerprints on a corpse.” She pursed her lips for a moment and held up a staying finger to the unconscious body. “Give me one sec. Gotta go grab something, then I’ll help you.”

She turned to Brent and his “friend.” Rifling their pockets, she emptied their wallets of their cash. “Think of it as a fine, boys.” She transferred the - somewhat disappointing - haul to her shoe, and she returned to the beaten man.

“Let’s see what I can do to help you.” She slipped her hands into the pocket of his pants, but she didn’t find a wallet. His jacket pockets didn’t reveal it, either, though a fancy phone was in one. “Maybe there’s someone I can call.”

She pressed the only button on the flat device, and a short, sharp alarm tone rang out, nearly causing her to drop the phone. After the tone, a mechanized British-sounding voice warned: “Excuse me, miss, but if you continue trying to use Master Stark’s phone without authorization, I will be forced to call the authorities.”

Mina blinked in surprise. “Oh! Were you on the line this whole time? You know the guy who owns this phone, then.” She paused as she processed all the information she had just heard. “Wait, did you say ‘Master Stark?’ As in _Tony Stark_?!” She jumped back a whole foot from his body.

“I’ll be contacting the authorities.”

“Wait! The guy I got this phone from was beaten! I swear I’m not trying to steal it, I was only trying to call for help.” Mina really didn’t want to deal with the cops. 

A flash burst in Mina’s face, leaving her blinking. “I apologize, Miss, but I judged it best to have a photo of you on file in case your intentions are not as pure as you stated.” She made a noise of assent, amazed at the front-facing camera - with cutting-edge tech like that, maybe this guy _was_ Tony Stark?

She watched the phone screen in fascination as the contact page came up, some person named “Happy” flashed by, and the accompanying number dialed. A harried voice answered, almost drowned out by thumping bass and loud chatter. “Tony, where did you run off to?”

“Mr. Hogan, Master Stark has been assaulted. He needs medical assistance.”

“What!? Where is he?”

“He’s in the alley between Comet Nightclub and a trendy boutique. I can check the name if you like.” Mina offered, trying to be helpful.

“Who’s that? Actually, nevermind. I’ll be right there!” And with that, the phone went dead.

Mina stood in the alley and debated between waiting for this Hogan to arrive and trying to help, or running away. It would be better to leave - Hakim was waiting for her, and he was definitely worried by now. Plus, if he called for an ambulance, the cops might come, and that would be less than ideal. 

Yes. It was better to flee. Mind made up, she bent and placed Stark’s phone back in his pocket. Or, at least, that’s what she intended. “Hey, what are you doing?” An angry voice accompanied a sturdy grip around her wrist.

“Putting his phone back? I guess you’re Mr. Hogan, right?” She met the gaze of a stocky gentleman in a suit. “So, I guess I’ll be on my way.” She unbent and tried to gently remove her hand from his grip, but was unsuccessful. 

Mr. Hogan was eyeing the two unconscious men while dialing a number on a cell phone. “Did you do this?”

“Yes. Those were the guy treating your friend like a pinata, though.”

“How did you do it? 

“I bashed them over the head with some junk I found in the alley.” Not a lie. “Look, I’m gonna run.” She yanked harder at the grip on her wrist but was still held fast.

“No, you’re not.” He transferred some of his attention to the phone now held to his ear. “Hello? Yeah, I need an ambulance and police. There’s been an assault.” He reeled off the address. “Yes, there’s a witness here.”

Oh, Hell no. This called for evasive action. Feeling a bit guilty, she reached for a tiny thread of electricity and sent it into his hand. He released her hand with a startled exclamation, and she seized the opportunity to run from the alleyway.

“Hey, wait!” She only paused in her running to turn and give him a cocky salute before running hell-for-leather down the busy Hollywood sidewalk.

_Hours later_

Hakim’s evening had been more productive than Mina’s - although, in all fairness, inner voices and rich playboys hadn’t waylaid him - and he’d wrangled a place for them to crash. They sat on two comfortable but decrepit sleeping bags and shared some McDonald’s while he tapped away on an old laptop and she shared her adventures.

“You’re making this shit up.” _Tap_ , _tap_ , _tap_ went the keys as he updated some security program for the owner of the bodega they were sleeping in. Or at least, the bodega’s stock room.

“I swear I’m not. My inner voice told me to go into an alleyway, and I saved Tony Stark!”

He rolled his eyes. “Even if I believed in your ‘inner voice’ - which I have never believed in - I’m supposed to accept that you beat up four guys and saved the richest man in America? Not happening.”

“I didn’t beat up four guys. Only two— “

“Well excuse me, two!”

“ — _And_ it wasn’t that hard. I used my powers.”

Hakim stopped typing altogether and put the laptop on the floor beside them. “You used your powers? You promised!” 

Mina tried to hold back her wince and failed. She hated disappointing him. “I couldn’t just let someone get hurt because I’m afraid of what people might do if they find out about my powers. Besides, I took every reasonable precaution to keep it from happening.”

Hakim heaved a sigh and retrieved the laptop - mollified, if not satisfied by her explanation. “I still don’t believe it was Tony Stark.”

“Jerk.”

“Brat.”

Lulled by easy companionship and the background noise of soft typing, Mina felt her heavy eyes close.

_She was dreaming, and yet not._

_She was Mina, and yet ... Not._

_She stood in a bright and dark space, in a wide yet narrow room, and felt the most and least "herself" that she had ever been. She glanced down at her body and saw only noise, the kind of white noise seen on an old TV screen. She wanted desperately to see herself - she felt that if she did, she would see a body that was definitely Mina's and definitely NotMina's._

_"Now, love, you are not supposed to be here." Mina/NotMina turned to see the owner of the voice, but a hand on her (their?) body stopped her. "It's time for you to wake up."_

Mina woke gasping, a worried Hakim gently shaking her shoulder. He asked her what was wrong, but when she tried to remember what she had dreamt about, nothing came to mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony regains consciousness and comes to the wrong conclusion. Pepper's worried, overworked, and meeting strange federal agents. And Mina and Hakim are just trying to get on with their lives, but those same federal agents seem to be real creeps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWs for this chapter: passing discussion of physical assault (from chapter 1), homelessness.
> 
> This chapter is longer than the last - not quite as long as requested, but I'll definitely work on making them consistently longer. Thanks for the feedback!

Pepper Potts was unsurprised to find Tony in his lab, working instead of resting. She was annoyed, but she wasn’t surprised. As she keyed herself into the underground workspace, she cataloged the state of his face, noting the greenish bruises and swelling still marred his features.

“Tony, you should be relaxing.”

That remark didn’t even earn her eye contact. Only a single raised eyebrow and a careless “I’m fine, Pep.” She noticed he appeared to be working on some small piece of circuitry. 

“You’re not fine. The hospital didn’t even want you to leave!”

Choosing - as he always did - to ignore arguments he thought were tedious, Tony asked, “Did you get anywhere with the photo JARVIS gave you?” A snort of a laugh escaped him at the memory of the picture in question. “JARVIS, pull up that pic again, would you? I’m due for a break, and I could use a chortle.”

“We don’t have time for this, Tony.” Pepper tried to interject, but he ignored her.

“Of course, sir.” A snapshot appeared on a wall monitor nearby. Its quality was abysmal: it was grainy and had been taken in poor lighting conditions. But the subject itself was the most amusing thing - a young woman with mousy brown hair, squinting both eyes, and making a face of distaste.

Like Pavlov’s bell, when Tony glanced at the photo he started laughing. Long, wheezing bellows that turned into small chuckles that fed again into whoops. Pepper felt her own lips twitching but fought it back. 

“I apologize for the quality of the photograph, sir. Next time you are beaten, I shall endeavor to take something more professional.” JARVIS’ voice was just dry enough that it was hard for Pepper to tell if he was joking. Nevertheless, it startled a laugh out of her.

“ _Never_ apologize for that.” Tony indicated the monitor. “It’s the best thing I’ve seen in a long time.” He switched his focus to Pepper, startling her with his apparent change of demeanor. “So, did you find anything?”

Right, he’d asked about that. Pepper pulled a folder out of her briefcase. And hesitated. She wasn’t sure this was the best thing for him. He got obsessed with things every so often - technology or expensive toys or even women and booze - but those actually helped his business and his image in the long run. She could see this interest potentially causing a PR nightmare if she let it.

“Pep?”

Uneasy, but unable to see a way out, she handed him the folder. “This wasn’t easy. Finding one homeless woman in L.A. with only a terrible photograph and Happy’s description was next to impossible.”

“I’ll give you a raise. What can you tell me?”

“The girl who helped you is Mina Taylor. I don’t know when or where she was born - I don’t know many hard facts. The woman at the shelter I talked to said that Mina claims she’s over twenty-one, but she looks about seventeen. The only other information I got was that she’s close with another kid.”

She opened another folder. “Hakim Oliver. We have more details on him - he’s enrolled in school. His parents died in a car accident, and he was a foster kid. Aged out this year.”

Tony leaned back in his chair, drumming in the air with a pen. His earlier mirth had left, and now he appeared calm and somewhat serious. Pepper watched him, willing him to tell her to let it go.

“Okay, Pep.”

Just let it go.

“Invite her to Stark Industries for a meeting, would you?”

Pepper felt her stomach drop, but didn’t let it show. “Yes, Tony.” 

* * *

Tony watched Pepper leave. He knew she didn’t understand what he was doing, but she wouldn’t say anything. He felt guilty, and that only made him want to drink.

“Sir, shouldn’t we tell Miss Potts about the things you witnessed?”

“Yes, JARVIS. I’ll tell Pepper that I saw a floating ball of electromagnetic energy heft a chunk of steel and bludgeon my attackers into unconsciousness. While I was half unconscious. And I’ll say that girl did it while I’m at it.” Glancing over the circuit board he’d been fiddling with all morning, he gave a noise of frustration and chucked it on a scrap pile. “She’ll think I was hallucinating.”

There was a poignant silence from the A.I. 

“I wasn’t hallucinating, JARVIS! I just can’t figure out how she did it.”

Tony approached a screen covered in mathematical scribbles, frustration eating away at his gut. He’d been working on it since he first woke in the hospital and forced Happy to bring him home. How the Hell had she made an electromagnetic field that could hover like that? And how did she make it move? The girl must be brilliant. 

“Sir, if I might interject? It does you no good to do the same mathematics repeatedly. Miss Potts will bring the girl to Stark Industries, and then you can ask her directly. Resting for now would be the best course of action.”

JARVIS’ voice echoed around the lab, but Tony stood unhearing, absorbed by the formulas.

* * *

Ever since that evening - the one whose events had taken a regrettable turn towards heroics - Mina had felt like she was being watched. She could sense eyes on her all the time, raising goosebumps along her skin and raising the tiny hairs on the back of her neck. When she jumped for the fifth time after hearing a car horn, Hakim had had enough.

“What’s wrong with you, Meen?”

“What?” She met his eyes, trying to project wide-eyed innocence. “I’m fine - just tired; I didn’t sleep well.” She realized her mistake when this received narrowed eyes.

“You made the same excuse yesterday. Have you been missing sleep? Is there something I should know?”

Mina threw up her hands to stall his flood of concern. “It’s nothing! Just the usual stuff. Anyway,” she tried to change the subject, ever so casually, “How’d you do in school? There was a test, right?”

She diverted him into discussing his school woes. They talked about grades and terrible teachers and awful classmates for the rest of their walk.

The downtown shelter was always packed. It usually hit capacity before noon, and if you didn’t get a bed before then, you were shit out of luck. Harried volunteers pushed past masses of gathered people, burdened by boxes of food, blankets, and worn toys. One volunteer saw the two friends standing in line and stopped, load balanced on one hip, to call them over.

“Hakim! Mina!” She watched them approach with a weary smile. “There’s no point in waiting in line; we’re full up.”

“Damn.”

The woman lifted a chiding finger in Mina’s direction, but didn’t bother voicing her rebuke. She leaned in, instead. “How did you get so popular, Mina? Everyone’s been asking about you.”

Hakim looked startled, and Mina rushed out, “You know me, Carla - I’m the belle of the ball. Who’s been asking?”

“Let’s see: First was a dorky looking guy - White? Kind of balding? He had some kind of government ID, but nobody told him anything.”

Mina hid a sigh of relief and grinned conspiratorially with the older woman. Most volunteers and visitors at the shelter held a deep distrust of law enforcement. It wasn’t surprising that they would clam up. 

“Anyway,” Carla continued, “After that came this gorgeous lady - I’m talking tall, blonde, perfect make-up and clothes - and she said she was from Stark Industries. Oh, she had a card!” She passed over a card, which Mina took.

The card was nothing special. One side had information for the aforementioned Stark Industries - address, phone number, business hours. The other was white, except for a raised and printed telephone number. Mina slipped the card into her pocket.

“She had a picture she was showing around, and it sort of looked like you? It was just a really bad photo, but I thought it was you.” She laughed to herself at the memory of what was apparently a very amusing photo, before catching herself and continuing. “But she talked to the boss, not us, so I have no idea what she got told.”

“Two people aren’t ‘everyone.’” Hakim interjected.

“I’m not finished yet! Fifteen minutes ago, two more people came in looking for you. A man and a woman. They went straight into the office and haven’t come out yet.”

Mina startled. “They’re still here?”

“Yeah. Why are you so scared, did you rob a bank or something?”

“No!” This couldn’t be a coincidence. She shouldn’t have used her powers to save that rich playboy! She caught the semi-frantic stare Hakim sent her and shrugged her shoulders. “Hey, we gotta go.”

“Oh, there they are.” The woman pointed behind the two, oblivious to their upset. “Oh, they’re coming over. Guess that’s my cue to leave.”

_Leave. Walk away calmly. Don’t look back._

“Let’s take the back exit.” Mina grabbed Hakim and began towing him forward. He glanced back, but she stopped him with a sharp “Don’t!” The exit door was in sight. If they could get outside it, they might run to a safer place - somewhere to figure out what was happening. Her hand was on the push plate when a hand gripped her shoulder.

“Mina Taylor? We’d like a word.”

_Stay calm. We can do this._

Hakim turned first, regarding the strangers with suspicion. “What do you want with Mina?” Rather than let him face them alone, she turned to them as well.

“Nothing bad, I assure you.” This came from the woman. She was pretty, all blond curls and big green eyes, but there was an off-putting coldness behind her demeanor. “We want to talk with you for a few minutes.”

“Who _are_ you?”

The man sighed as if she were the most tiresome person he’d ever met. “We’re agents from the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.”

“Never heard of it. So, if you’re done playing your weird joke, I’d like to go.”

“It’s not a joke, I assure you. According to reports, you were involved in an assault on a US defense contractor, and we’d like to investigate that further.” The woman’s smile was probably supposed to be reassuring, but it just seemed smug.

“If by ‘involved in,’ you mean ‘saved a spoiled rich man from a beating.’” 

The agents began babbling something, but Mina stopped paying attention. She knew why they were here - it had to be related to her powers. Well, she wouldn’t let them bundle her off to their secret government lab for who knows what kind of testing. She began looking for some way to escape.

The door wasn’t too far away, they might still try to make a break for it. She glanced towards it and noticed the male agent stiffen - he was ready for her to make her escape that way. Crestfallen, she looked for another exit, and spotted a hall not too far away. She remembered an emergency exit at the end. If she could only get to it!

_We should cut the lights, first. They don’t know the layout, so following will be difficult in the dark._

Wasn’t using her powers what got her in this trouble in the first place? Still not listening to the conversation flowing around her - Hakim was saying something snarky to the female agent, judging by his tone - Mina sent the smallest exploratory tendril of her power up towards the fluorescent lights buzzing on the roof above. She desperately tried to resist the usual overload of information (so much power, so many things, look at me, LOOK AT US) and explored the power pathways of the light fixtures. She found the piece she was looking for and mercilessly overloaded it.

The effect was immediate and dramatic. The light bulbs all popped in a shower of sparks, plunging the room into darkness. Scared and angry shouts rang from the assembled mass of people, and the Mina heard the agents curse right next to her. The man reached out to grab one of them in the darkness, but she sensed his arm just miss her.

In a rare show of luck, she had never released her grip on Hakim’s arm. She towed him towards the hallway and prayed that there was nothing in their way. One agent shouted, “Hey, wait!” The two friends only broke into a harder run.

The pounding footsteps chased them down the dark hallway. A few times Mina felt herself brush past people in the blackness, earning herself exclamations of surprise, but with luck she found nothing to trip on. They burst through the exit door and just managed to slam it in the face of the agents behind them. Holding it shut was another problem.

“What do we do now? We can’t stand here forever.” There wasn’t much in the alley behind the shelter that looked usable, and besides, the agents might be armed.

The agents strained on the other side of the door. The metal jerked and the accompanying jolts sent pain up Mina’s arms. They were saying something, but she couldn’t understand it.

“We need to run.” Hakim hissed in a whisper. “If we let go of the door, they’ll lose their balance, and we’ll have time to get away.”

Mina nodded; It was a better idea than she had. She braced one hand on the door and held up three fingers, counting them down so he saw. Three, two, one...

They let go and ran once again. Mina heard a scuffle behind her, but she knew better than to look back. So she contented herself with imagining the pitiful sight the two agents must make as she fled to freedom.

* * *

For the second time in as many days, Pepper made the rounds of local homeless shelters. While most of the time her job was exciting and fulfilling, sometimes it was a depressing slog of things that went against her better judgement. She took a moment to gather her emotions, then exited her car and made her way towards the last shelter on her list.

Something strange was happening - a group of people in dark clothing were before the front doors. As she approached them, a man stopped her in her tracks. “Excuse me, ma’am, the shelter’s closed for now. There’s been an incident.”

She looked him up and down. He wasn’t wearing riot gear - no helmet, no bullet-proof vest, not even a visible weapon - just a rather cheap suit on that matched his cheap shoes. There was an earpiece of some sort visible in one ear, but that was the only thing about him that didn’t indicate he was a lower level businessman. He certainly didn’t have any identifying marks upon him. “What agency are you from?”

“Ma’am, if you’d please get back in your car and leave...” He gestured dismissively toward her car.

She firmed her stance, back going straighter. “I’m not leaving. I came here looking for someone. Now, you’re telling me there’s been ‘an incident,’ and to leave?” She leant forward, menace in her gaze. “I’m not leaving until I find who I came for!”

“Ma’am— “

“Kerwicky, why don’t you go get a coffee?” The man who interrupted gave the first a reassuring pat. Kerwicky jumped, nodded, and left. Smiling, the man addressed Pepper, “Kerwicky’s solid, but he can be a bit stiff. Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for someone, and I need to find out if they’re here. Especially if there’s been a mysterious incident, don’t you think?”

The man heaved a sad-sounding sigh. “I’m afraid no one can go in right now. There _has_ been an accident. Radiation leak.” He rubbed the back of his neck, but somehow the chagrin didn’t seem to show in his eyes.

Everything about the man seemed to scream “harmless,” but Pepper felt uneasy. “So you’re detaining everyone inside for health reasons?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then you must have a list of who you’ve detained. You can at least tell me if she’s in there or not.”

The man let out a friendly chuckle. “I don’t see why not.” He called out to another agent, who brought a clipboard over. “What’s the name?”

“Mina Taylor.” She observed his face, but it stayed blank. Too blank, almost like a statue. He perused the sheet, turned it over and read the next, before meeting her eyes with a remorseful look writ upon his face. “I’m sorry. That name isn’t on the sheet. Although, perhaps that’s a good thing? No chance of her being caught in the leak, then.”

“Thank you, anyway, Mr...?”

“It’s Agent. Agent Coulson.”

“Well, thank you, anyway, Agent Coulson.” She turned, then paused, and turned back. “What agency did you say you were from, again?”

“I don’t believe I mentioned one.”

“An oversight, I’m sure.”

Coulson smiled, all twinkling eyes and dimples. “Drive safe, Miss Potts.” With that, he and his agents walked back to the mass surrounding the entrance to the building.

Pepper hurried back to her car, angry and worried. What the Hell was going on here? And where had Mina Taylor gone? Her head was in a whirl as she drove away, worried that he’d lied to her, and the girl she was searching for was still in that building. The radiation leak story wasn’t believable.

It only occurred to her as she slowed down for the first red light on her way that she hadn’t given her name to Agent Coulson.

* * *

The sky was just tinged orange as Mina trudged, exhausted, down a road some distance away from the shelter. She hadn’t run that far since high school, and she’d prefer not to repeat the experience soon. They kept an eye out for anything suspicious, but didn’t have an idea what to do if they ran into those agents again.

She felt mild annoyance as she saw Hakim charming two little old ladies in matching lawn chairs. She looked like a sweaty harpy with hair like a haystack, and he wasn’t even winded! Was he even human?

He caught her glare as he jogged back to her and pulled a puzzled face. “What’s up? Wait, I don’t want to know. Here,” he pressed a snack bar and water bottle into her hands, “Compliments of those lovely ladies.”

Her grumpiness instantly abated. “Aw, I take it back. You’re the best!” She took a long swig of water and sighed, the picture of perfect bliss.

“You take what back?”

“Oh, nothing.”

They continued walking. She lost Hakim to his thoughts - probably plotting a million different ways out of their current situation. A _damn_ good thing, because she didn’t have any idea.

Should she run? That was the safest choice. She might choose a place at random and hide. There was a good chance those agents wouldn’t locate her. But what about Hakim? He couldn’t come with her - he had to graduate. And he’d be in danger if she left him.

She could always fight. Just keep defending herself whenever they came after her until they learned that it was a bad idea. She shook her head, denying the possibility; they had more resources than she did, and escalating the situation didn’t seem like a sound plan.

So that left only a third option: telling someone. But who should she tell? A reporter would be the obvious choice, but only a tabloid would believe her. She definitely wasn’t talking to the cops. Her powers might interest some professor, but then she was in the unenviable position of being studied once again. She didn’t have any friends to reveal it to - the _only_ friend she had was Hakim. 

She groaned in frustration and kicked a rock across the sidewalk. Back to not knowing what to do! She clenched her eyes shut and tried to contact that instinctual inner self that sometimes saved her. There was nothing, no response at all. She tried harder - and tripped over a crack in the pavement she couldn’t see.

“Fuck!’

“You okay, Meen?” Hakim helped her to her feet, his face concerned.

“I’m fine. Just frustrated because I can’t figure out a way out of this mess!”

He smiled encouragingly and patted her back. “I think I have an idea!”

When he didn’t elaborate, Mina punched him on the arm lightly. Ignoring his pained whining, she commanded, “Tell me!”

“We should go to Tony Stark for help.” The look on her face must have told him what she felt about that spectacular idea, because he continued, “I don’t think he’s involved with the agents. Remember, there was a lone agent first, a woman from Stark Industries, and then two agents who spoke to us. Why would he have sent someone to find you and also send two groups of agents to the same location? It seems like a waste of resources.”

“Well, he’s rich. They _like_ to waste money. Also, there might’ve only been a communication mix-up between the groups. He also works for the government, remember.”

“Regardless, we need to trust someone. You’re not foolish, I know that you’ve figured out that we can’t run or hide, and fighting is illogical at best. We need an ally. Tony Stark would be an amazing ally.”

Mina stopped walking so she could send her best withering glance Hakim’s way. “You just want to meet him.”

“That, too, but I’m not wrong about the rest of it.”

“Fine!” Mina began striding off again, steps full of purpose this time. She ignored the pained screaming of tired muscles. “We’ll go talk to Stark, get captured, and I’ll get tested on in some weird-ass lab in the desert.”

“That’s all I’m asking for.” He answered, laughing when she punched him in the arm.

It took them more than an hour to reach the Stark Industries building, even with a few helpful drivers giving them rides along the way. The sky had long since turned from a faint orange to a mix of burning reds, bright umbers, and light purples. Mina could feel the weariness seeping deep into her bones, and she would have given just about anything for a safe place to take a nap. Faced with entering the large, impressive edifice of fiberglass and steel, she wished she could turn right back around again.

She placed a staying hand on Hakim’s shoulder. “Wait here.”

He looked put out. “Why?” She could tell that he wanted to push her off and continue without listening, but he stopped.

“A couple reasons.” She began ticking off fingers as she listed off her arguments. “First, it’ll be hard enough to make it in there past security with only me. If they see two homeless people, they won’t let us in the door.

“More importantly, they only want me. If I don’t come out, you can still go.” His face morphed to anger, but she held up a hand to forestall him. “If I get captured by whoever, there’s no way you’ll be able get me out. You need to run away. Promise.”

He caught the hand she’d bought up, pushing it down. “That is the dumbest idea you’ve ever had, and that’s saying something!” 

“Promise!”

They stared each other down, a clash of weary blue and earnest brown eyes. Finally, Hakim gave in with a sigh. “Fine. But I’m not gonna let you disappear. If you get kidnapped, I’m going to save you.”

“Good enough.” She covered his now-clenched fist with hers, flashed him what she prayed was a reassuring smile, and headed towards the glass double doors that fronted Stark Industries.

Striding inside with feigned confidence, she had hoped that she wouldn’t attract immediate notice. Upon a cursory inspection, she appeared to be a young woman in faded jeans and a T-shirt; a little unusual in a business environment, but not too outlandish. But when she saw the front desk receptionist catalogue her from head to toe, she knew she was out of luck. Her shirt was sweat-stained and filthy, the jeans more worn than was fashionable, her shoe soles so thin they didn’t leave a print behind. This woman would never let her pass.

“What do _you_ want?”

Mina imagined that her tone had frozen many a lesser person in their shoes. She fumbled the card she’d gotten from the shelter onto the counter. “I was asked to be here.”

She watched with trepidation as the receptionist examined the card. She flipped it over and read the number on the back, which earned a single raised eyebrow. “You have an appointment?”

“Yes?” Mina coughed, trying again, “Uh, yes!”

The elegant woman narrowed those perfectly made-up eyes before lowering them so she could type something on her keyboard. “It appears that Miss Potts has gone home for the day. You’ll need to reschedule.”

“No, wait!” Leaning forward, Mina whispered, “I have to meet with Tony Stark!”

A tense silence reigned for a few seconds. The two women just blinked at one another, both shocked by what they’d heard. Mina broke the spell by saying, “I don’t mean that like a crazy person!” but the damage had been done. The woman gave a curt nod to one of the security guards standing nearby.

The guards caught her and began dragging her from the building. Struggling, Mina swore, “Shit, let me go!” She dug her heels in - as much as she could on the slick tile - but that only gave them momentary pause. In seconds, they had hefted her up and carted her towards the doors. “What the Hell is this, some slapstick comedy sketch? Put me down!”

“Stop!”

Security complied with the shout, halting in their movement. Mina searched in confusion for the voice, before finally spotting a familiar face near a bank of elevators. “Oh, hey! Mr. Hogan, right?” She wrestled her arm away from one guard with a glare before waving at her unexpected savior. “How’re you doing?”

His look of annoyance didn’t change at all in the face of her forced friendliness. When security didn’t immediately release her, he tossed them an annoyed: “Oh, let her go!” It relieved her to find herself placed back on her feet - and it irked her when he crooked a finger and pointed at the ground to call her over. Did he think she was a dog?

_Rude._

After she had warily approached him, he crossed his arms over his chest and gave her what he must have thought was a threatening frown. Mina remained unimpressed. “So, did you bring your taser with you this time, kid?”

That was interesting; he must think he got hit with a taser in the alley. She held back a snort of laughter - she’d barely zapped him at all. She reassured him that she was weapon-less. 

He eyed her with suspicion for a full minute. She wondered if he would try to pat her down - which she might have _really_ electrocuted him for - but in the end, he only nodded. “Mr. Stark is ready to meet you. Follow me.” He strode off into a nearby elevator.

“Wait, ready to meet me?!” How the Hell had he known she was coming?

_Fuck if I know._

Mina sighed, running to catch up with Mr. Hogan. This day was just getting better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get posted - I had a personal tragedy that kind of derailed my creative process for a bit. Hopefully the next chapters will be done a bit quicker! I have a [Tumblr](https://shadowsparrowfic.tumblr.com/) where I sometimes post updates or share Marvel memes and things, so you can check it out if you want to keep in touch.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this far! This is honestly the first thing I've written and put out for public consumption since junior high (and I would prefer not to specify how long ago _that_ was). If you have gentle constructive criticism, I'm open to it. If you liked it, please pass that on as well! 
> 
> To be honest, the most fun part so far was researching things I'd forgotten about 2004. Like the fact that front-facing cameras were high-tech and fancy. I had to throw that in. :)
> 
> Stay safe, and be healthy.


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